14 June 2010

Huge turn-out for historic MvM resolution

BY KEITH JACKSON

SOME 350 FRIENDS of Montevideo
Maru will gather in Canberra next Monday as the
Australian Parliament honours military personnel and civilians who died as a
result of the New GuineaIslands conflict in World War II.

Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel Minister, Alan
Griffin, will make a major Ministerial Statement on the matter and a historic private
members’ motion will be debated in the evening. The same resolution will pass
through the Senate.

This is the first time the Australian Parliament has formally acknowledged the sacrifices made in the 68 years since the fall of Rabaul on 24 January 1942 and the consequent sinking of the Montevideo Maru with the loss of over 1,000 lives on 1 July 1942.

The resolution will agree that the Parliament of Australia:

Expresses the
gratitude of the Australian nation to the service personnel and civilians in
Rabaul and the New GuineaIslands for their services in the defence of Australia
during World War II.

Expresses its regret
and sorrow for the sacrifices that were made in the defence of Rabaul and the New GuineaIslands and in the subsequent sinking of
the Montevideo Maru on 1 July 1942.

Conveys its
condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the people who died in this
conflict.

Conveys its thanks to the relatives for their
forbearance and efforts in ensuring that the nation remembers the sacrifices
made.

A number of Lark Force veterans will be present
including:

Lorna Whyte - an army nurse in
Rabaul during World War II and a POW in Japan

Fred Kollmorgen (94) - the sole
survivor of the 2/22nd (Salvation Army) Band. Fred escaped down the
south coast of New Britain.

Stan Cooper (93) - Officer with Royal
Australian Artillery Heavy Battery. After
months in Rabaul as a POW in 1942, he was taken on the Naruto Maru which left Rabaul two weeks after the Montevideo Maru. He spent the next three
years in Zentsuji POW camp in Japan.

Lionel Veale (91) - 1st Independent
Company, Kavieng. Was sent to Vila
to train the Free French Forces and later became a Coastwatcher.

David Harper (90) - David was
with the 1st Independent Company on New Ireland
and initially escaped to Rabaul on the Induna
Star. He then caught a ship to Buka and went on to the Solomon Islands.

Norm Furness (88) - President of
the Lark Force Association. Norm escaped from Rabaul down the south coast of New Britain and then joined
the Laurabada in its rescue mission
of late March 1942.

The principal public
debate on the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru matter will take the form of a
Ministerial Statement in the House of Representatives by Alan Griffin, which will
be responded to by Louise Markus, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs.

Following the Ministerial Statement, guests will make
their way to a reception hosted by Mr Griffin in the Queens Terrace Gallery.

During private members' business from about 9 pm Monday
evening, the motion will be debated and resolved in recognition of the tragedy, honouring those
who lost their lives and thanking their relatives.

[Keith is President of the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Society, established to ensure national
recognition of the fall of Rabaul and Australia’s greatest maritime
disaster, a shocking tragedy of war. Contact the Society here to receive copies
of its free monthly newsletter.]